Items · Materials · Non-Magical
Ahal Paste
A traditional weapon among certain primitive tribes such as the Powi,this strange paste derived from the Ahal nut has been used to suprise and encumber many an opponent.
The paste is obtained from the Ahal nut,a large pod that sprouts from the branches of a certain species of tree that thrives and flourishes in swamps. About the size of a grape,it is a a deep,shiny red in hue and possesses a soft layer of skin that can be easily broken.
The women and children collect it in the case of the Powi, since in their society foraging and cultivation is regarded as ''woman's work,though with the other cultures that also employ the special propeties of this nut,it may be harvested by men too.
When popped into one's mouth and chewed,it dissolves easily into a brownish,rather bitter paste that leaves an unpleasent after-taste that in the case of those with sensitive palates,might cause them to throw up.
Unsuprisingly,warriors who have spat the paste at the vulnereble,exposed parts of an enemy with devastating effect,will swear that they have tasted nothing sweeter on their tounges. Blow pipes are sometimes used to further the range of this deadly gunk.
A band of Powi once wiped out an entire brigade of lesser demons by gumming up the crevices and hinges of the black armor that the fiends wore. This was accomplished by the warriors simply discharging the paste,with the aid of the blow pipes,at the exposed chinks and links in the armor of their foes. Trapped in their armor and unable to move at all,the demons were helpless to stop the victorious Powi from butchering them all like goats or sheep.
In another battle,a fearsome eyed Giant that attacked a Powi village,was blinded in all four eyes with with paste wielding warriors,compelling it to flee back into the forest,screaming in pain.
Properties:
When transferred to a person's mouth,the saliva present in that enviroment will immediately cause the nut to disentigrate into a weak,watery paste that sloshes around in the mouth.
But if sprayed or spat onto the surface of someone's skin,it imediately reacts with the sweat present and thickens,becoming as thick and solid as concrete. Those who handle the paste are extremely careful to wipe their hands dry throughly before they handle it. Sometimes,they use primitive gloves made of dried lizard hide.
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So if your mouth dries out slightly, you have killed yourself because your mouth is now filled with concrete?
I mean a face is nothing but skin, muscle, a little bone. The mouth is just that with a little of saliva. So it can't just react to skin... It needs to dry and lose the saliva enzymes.
It could not be used in blow pipes... if it dries fast enough to be this dangerous... the moment you took it out of your mouth, put it into the pipe... it would begin to 'glom'.
So it reacts with skin?, then how do they put it in blow pipes, tongs?
Just a couple of thoughts...
Seems a touch incomplete...
Perhaps you should add some of the uses of the Ahal paste- I imagine that house builders might find it of some use (workers have buckets of it, chewing and spitting out the paste as mortar). The use in battle is an interesting idea, but I don't see how it would stop an enemy warrior, unless the paste was in their eyes or nose, or possibly gumming up some hinge in their armor or something.
3/5.
Damned! The reaction with skin was supposed to be triggered by a reaction with the sweat present. I guessed I left that part out.
Made some changes to ti. I hope you guys like it better now.
4/5
Saw it after the editing, it looks much better now.
It'd be interesting for the players to walk into a villiage that looks like a paper wasp nest and find the people there not evil. I like it.
I like the idea. It's odd tp me because it sounds like it should not be so powerful, but your examples make it seem so. Interesting substance.
I like the general idea of a spittable super-glue, though it is somewhat inconsistent in its trigger - if it reacts with skin, than it would not be that useful against armour.
Probably best if it simply hardened when it dried, and that it dries very quickly.